The minority effect

The Narendra Modi effect has now begun to take its toll on other leaders. Rajnath Singh, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was in Jaipur recently to address a meeting of minorities. The note that Singh tried to strike was that the BJP had never discriminated against the minorities and "if anyone has any complaints, they should talk to me". Immediately, Mahir Azad, the state minorities commission chief (and obviously a Congress sympathiser), came up on the stage and handed Singh a memorandum. He then asked a question: "What has the Gujarat government done for the minorities? Isn't it true that not a single Muslim has got a scholarship from the Gujarat government? How is this possible? Does this mean there are no Muslims worthy of getting a Gujarat government scholarship?" he asked. Immediately, there were slogans and counter-slogans in the gathering, and Singh scurried out of the room escorted by his colleague Shahnawaz Hussain.